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LELAND  •  S  •  COPELAND 


SUNFLOWER   PRESS 

Box  654 

Santa    B  a  r  b  a  r  a  ,   C  a  li  f  0  r  n  i  a 


.  .  I    • 

.     t  • 


COPYRIGHTED   1922 

by 

LELAND   •  S  •   COPELAND 


The  Schauer  Printing  Studio 
Santa  Barbara,  California 


Title  Line  Drawn  by  Earl  Van  Boven 


FIRST 
BOOKLET 


. 


•    - 
>  .    "   » 


FORE 

Sing  of  the  birth  of  planets; 

Dream  of  eternal  skies. 
Measure  the  newer  story 

Of  life's  tremendous  rise. 

Speak  of  mind  and  its  visions; 

Tell  of  an  upward  grope. 
Sing,  too,  the  older  story 

Of  love  and  loss  and  hope. 


i  "i  Whimsical     Rimes 


ASPIRATION 


Over  the  dark,  thin  nebular  drift, 

Waiting  the  warmth  and  light; 
Over  the  writhing,  blazing  sun, 

And  planets,  half  day,  half  night ; 
Comets  that  race  with  a  trail  of  fire, 

Asteroids  whirling  along™ 
Something  is  brooding,  impelling; 

Something  that  cannot  be  wrong. 

Up  from  the  unseen  germ  and  cell. 

Potent  with  glory  unborn ; 
Up  from  the  fish  of  the  Devon  sea. 

And  saurians  feeding  at  morn ; 
Jungle  glooms  where  the  lion  lurks, 

And  dark-eyed  cavegirl's  song — 
Something  is  moving,  compelling; 

Something  that  cannot  do  wrong. 


ir  n 


i  m  s  i  c 


a  I     R 


i  7ii  e  s 


II 


Out  of  our  little  joy  and  pain, 

Hope  and  love's  warm  breath ; 
Out  of  mazes  and  mysteries, 

War,  disease,  and  death ; 
Care  for  self  and  love  of  friends, 

Will  to  be  kind,  yet  strong — 
Something  is  striving,  excelling; 

Something  that  cannot  go  wrong. 


12  Whimsical     R 


i  m  e  s 


ASCENSION 


Age  by  age  the  sun  is  rising 
Toward  the  apex  of  its  way; 

Seeking  heights  where  Vega  sparkles, 
Many  trillion  miles  away. 

So  the  soul  of  man  is  climbing; 

Wistful  ever,  mortals  wind 
Farther  from  the  brute  and  caveman, 

Dawn  and  morning  of  the  mind. 
Into  dust  fall  kings  and  idols, 

Superstition,  ancient  gear, 
For  the  strength  of  thought  is  stronger 

Than  the  curb  of  hope  or  fear. 
Man  is  breaking  vain  traditions, 

Old  injustice,  legal  wrong; 
Giving  outworn  good  for  better, 

While  he  thinks  and  toils  along, 
Quelling  plagues,  controlling  nature — 

Losing  zest  for  martial  fame — 


If  h 


i   m 


s  i  c  a  I     R 


i   m   e  s 


13 


Winning  on  this  little  planet 
Glory  for  the  human  name. 


Smiling  upward,  sweeping  onward, 

Through  the  night  and  through  the  day, 

Mounts  the  soul  of  man  still  higher 
Toward  the  apex  of  its  way. 


14  W  h  i  m  s  teal     Rimes 


BEYOND    DEATH 


Heart,  be  at  ease;  she  could  not  die. 

I  know  she  lives  and  waits  for  me ! 
Perhaps  beyond  the  summer  sky 

Where  never  telescope  can  see. 
But  be  it  near,  or  be  it  far, 
She  loves  her  own  from  some  kind  star. 

She  lives,  because  the  worlds  of  space 
Refuse  to  part  from  one  so  fair. 

They  love,  as  I,  her  smile  of  dawn, 
Her  sunny  eyes,  and  evening  hair. 

She  waits  for  me!    O  soul,  not  sad, 

When  all  the  moons  and  stars  are  glad. 


W  h  i  in  steal     R   i  m   e  t  /J 


IMMORTALITY 


(Oriental  Song  of  3500  A.  D.) 

Ten  thousand  years  must  dawn  and  die 
Ere  I  can  bid  my  soul  good-bye. 
God  of  the  East,  unbind  the  man 
Whom  you  can  free,  or  no  one  can. 

The  stars  begin  to  draw  apart, 

A  million  times  the  sun  has  set, 
Unnumbered  dreams  have  stirred  my  heart, 

Delights  have  come  and  joys  have  fled, 
And  all  I  loved  and  served  are  dead, 
Yet  I,  who  sinned,  am  living  yet. 

When  life  was  new,  when  love  was  sweet, 

I  craved  a  curse — "Oh  yield  to  me 
A  bliss  that  for  others  may  not  be  meet ; 

Enlightened  One,  though  your  Way  be  best, 
Give  me  the  boon  of  the  buoyant  West, 
The  blessed  gift,  Immortality." 


16  W  h  i  m  s  i  c  a  I     R  i  m   e  s 


I  knelt  beneath  the  Burma  palms 

And  scanned  your  face,  Eternal  Peace, 
Till  your  still  lips  moved  in  the  awful  calms — 
"Ten  thousand  years  will  dawn  and  die 
Ere  you  can  tell  Desire  good-bye. 
I  have  granted  this — and  at  last  release." 

Oh  many  an  age  has  lapsed  since  then. 
And  I,  in  my  zest  for  joy  and  fame, 
Have  fought  and  wrought  with  a  maze  of  men ; 
Have  lolled  in  gain  and  moaned  in  loss 
Where  the  leadlight  drops  from  the  Southern 
Cross 
And  oft  where  the  Dipper  and  Sirius  flame. 

My  name  has  sounded  around  the  earth — 

A  king  in  the  West,  a  prince  in  the  East — 
And  the  tribes  I  bled  still  sing  my  worth. 
I  drew  my  hosts  over  snowy  land 
And  broke  their  will  on  torrid  sand, 
For  I  was  the  lord  of  great  and  least. 

A  thousand  tender  eyes  of  home 

Have  shone  with  joy  or  wept  in  rue. 
Mine  was  the  love  of  Greece  and  Rome, 

Egyptian  smiles,  Circassian  charms, 
The  Houris'  faith,  and  South  Sea  arms. 
A  thousand  cared  whose  hearts  were  true. 


W  h  i  m  $  i  c  a  I     Rimes  17 


But  dearest  names  grew  dim  and  strange 

Till  memories  died,  while  the  ages  bent 
My  temper  and  aim  through  change  on  change. 
So  much  that  was  I  is  beyond  recall 
That  my  soul  is  barely  mine  at  all, 
For  new  mind  came  as  the  old  mind  went. 

One  thing  endured  and  haunted  me, 

A  painful  thing  that  would  not  die — 
Under  the  stars,  by  land  and  sea, 

In  Aden,  Samarkand,  and  Brest, 
At  Zanzibar,  and  Bucharest — 
The  old,  sad  thought  that  I  was  I. 

And  now,  dear  Buddha,  dispel  my  woe 

As  weary  and  gray  to  you  I  creep, 
For  I  begged  for  that  I  did  not  know. 
Unbounded  life  is  not  the  best, 
And  we  need  far  more  eternal  rest; 
When  the  glad  day  glooms,  it  is  sweet  to  sleep. 

Let  not  ten  thousand  years  drift  by 
Ere  I  can  bid  Desire  good-bye. 
God  of  the  East,  grant  now  release 
And  melt  my  soul  in  immortal  peace. 


i8  W  h  i  m  s  i  c  a  I     R   i  m  e  s 


SECRETS    NEVER   TOLD 


How  did  you  mingle  your  atoms, 

Forming  the  primitive  cell, 
Oxygen,  Hydrogen,  Carbon, 

How  did  you  manage  so  well? 
Whence  came  the  wonderful  essence, 

Life  of  the  ages  to  be? 
Nitrogen,  Phosphorus,  Sulphur, 

Whisper  your  secret  to  me. 

Brought  from  the  wreck  of  a  planet, 

After  a  keenly  cold  ride 
Found  life  at  last  resurrection 

Out  of  a  meteor's  side? 
Or  driven  by  light  through  the  ether, 

Woke  it  to  thrive  on  the  earth  ? 
Chromatin,  Protoplasm, 

Tell  me  the  truth  of  your  birth. 


W  h  i  m  s  i  c  a  I     R 


i  m  e  s  iq 


Perhaps  on  the  globe  life  was  hiding, 

Scattered  in  rock  and  in  air; 
Braving  the  heat  of  the  hollows 

Long  ere  the  ocean  was  there; 
Waiting  for  cycles  the  moment 

To  gather  itself  and  be  born. 
Water,  you  mother  of  being, 

Sing  of  the  soul  at  its  morn. 


20  W  h  i  m  s  i  c  a  I     R  i  m  e  s 


THUS     SPOKE    OLD    OCEAN 


Older  am  I  than  life  or  death 

And  older  far  than  mammal  or  man. 
I  sang  ere  lilt  of  bird  began 

And  whispered  to  earth  ere  beast  drew  breath. 
For  I  am  the  sea,  the  shining  sea, 
Which  evermore  unfettered  will  be. 

I  speak — can  you  hear? — when  great  waves  crash 
On  folded  strata  or  granite  wall; 
The  story  of  earth  I  chant  to  all 

As  my  breakers  thud  and  swish  and  splash. 
With  sigh  or  roar,  I  sing  it  o'er 
As  they  crest  and  foam  along  the  shore. 

Eons  ago  (but  who  knows  when?) 

My  spirit  lived  in  a  heated  cloud 

That  wrapped  the  world  like  a  heavy  shroud- 
The  world  that  was  newly  crusted  then. 

My  chemical  soul  and  mist  of  coal 

Conferred  for  an  age  where  storm-clouds  roll. 


IV  h  i  7n  steal     R   i  r/i  e  s  21 


I  heard  the  call  of  the  lonely  land, 

But  Land  was  selfish  and  cried,  "Away! 
When  his  anger  cooled  and  let  me  stay, 

I  sprang  in  joy  from  strand  to  strand. 
So  out  of  steam  and  a  gloomy  dream 
I  changed  to  the  rippled  ocean  stream. 

The  earth  I  loved,  and  I  loved  the  sky. 
To  these  I  said,  "A  better  must  be 
Than  earth  or  air  or  the  dimpled  sea. 

Let  life  be  born,  but  born  to  die. 

Our  skill  to  test,  present  your  best, 
With  a  wealth  of  energy  impressed." 

Of  all  the  elements  we  could  find 
We  gathered  nine,  but  chiefly  six, 
For  the  compound  we  essayed  to  mix. 

Centuries  passed  ere  I  could  bind 

The  pulses  rife  that  make  up  life — ■ 
Ere  concord  grew  from  a  primal  strife. 


>j 


22  TV  h  i  m  steal     R  i  m  e  s 


Millennia  went,  yet  the  wonder-thing 

Was  only  a  speck,  a  film,  a  cell. 

Yes,  half  the  ages  arose  and  fell 
Before  this  essence  I  could  bring 

From  alga  and  germ,  through  swimming  worm, 

To  the  backboned  fish  with  silver  derm. 

Out  of  the  water,  cradle  of  all, 
Plant  and  animal  climbed  at  last 
And  over  the  silent,  bare  land  passed. 

Vast  forests  throve  with  fern-trees  tall, 
For  mist  of  coal  into  green  life  stole 
And  found  in  the  carbon  beds  its  goal. 

Stolid  and  drear,  life  struggled  long. 

No  flower  smiled,  no  bee  was  heard, 

And  all  the  world  had  never  a  bird, 
For  love  lacked  beauty  and  love  lacked  song. 

The  dragon-fly  beat  dreamily  by 

Or  drowsily  sank  on  moss  to  lie. 


W  h  i  m  s  i  c  a  I     R  i  m   e  s  2J 


Soon  animal  tribes  by  thousands  died, 
And  deserts  ousted  shade  and  rain, 
Till  we  feared  our  work  was  work  in  vain. 

Yet  greater  marvels  at  length  were  tried. 
Giants  in  frame,  the  dinosaurs  came, 
Whose  wee  brains  lost  in  the  awful  game. 

The  hope  of  hopes  was  a  mammal  droll. 

How  small  and  stupid  the  creature  seemed! 

But  deep  in  its  beady  eyes  there  gleamed 
A  glint  of  reason,  a  spark  of  soul, 

Which  wavered  long,  but  flamed  out  strong 

When  man  emerged  with  his  right  and  wrong. 

O  changeful,  splendid,  terrible  Life, 

Shall  I  call  you  good,  dear  soul,  or  ill? 

You  like  to  pity  and  like  to  kill 
And  your  love  of  self  is  love  of  strife. 

Yet  the  radiant  plan  we  trust  to  man  ; 

Unless  he  conquers,  no  other  can. 


24  Whimsical     Rimes 


LOVE 

Who  loves  another  cannot  fail  or  die. 

His  soul,  atune  with  music  of  the  spheres, 
Transcends  in  worth  and  need  the  ended  years. 

He  must  prevail,  though  all  things  else  go  by! 

The  moon  is  bound  to  earth  with  during  tie 
Of  love,  by  which  the  universe  coheres, 
And  many  a  comet,  sweeping  far,  yet  veers 

Back  to  its  sun,  while  stars  lack  power  to  fly 

From  stars  they  draw.    Ask  not  for  wealth  or  fame, 
The  butterflies  and  humming-birds  of  fate, 
Because  these  slighter  things  must  flutter  by. 

Only  Love  will  wait  and  be  the  same 
Beyond  the  silence  of  the  final  gate, 

For  those  who  love  can  neither  fail  nor  die. 


W  h  i  in  steal     Rimes  25 


WHEN  HEARTS  REMEMBER  HOME 


Eternity  is  calling 

Above  the  zigzag  trail 
That  climbs  the  furrowed  mountain  wall, 

High  over  brook  and  dale. 
My  child,  if  you  are  weary; 

My  life,  if  you  are  sad, 
Look  far,  far  up  to  cloudless  blue 

And  let  your  heart  be  glad. 

When  darkness  fills  the  valley, 

And  slopes  and  peaks  are  dim, 
Infinity  comes  whispering 

Above  the  mountain  rim. 
My  child,  if  you  are  tired 

Of  earth,  of  toil  or  play, 
Glance  up  and  see  the  Universe, 

Aglow  with  endless  day. 


2&  W  h  i  m  steal     Rimes 


SPEEDING 


We  are  dashing  along  in  our  snug,  wee  car, 

Of  granite  and  iron  and  gold, 
At  eighteen  miles  a  second 

Through  autumn,  summer,  and  cold. 
Five  hundred  eighty  million  miles 

Each  year  we  dart  around 
An  unmarked  track,  as  in  gilt  and  black 

Earth  wheels  without  a  sound. 

Our  automobile  is  part  of  a  train 

That  moves  at  the  slower  pace 
Of  a  dozen  miles  a  second 

In  an  interstellar  race. 
A  huge  and  splendid  machine  is  guide ; 

It  lights  the  burnished  band, 
Saturn  and  Mars  and  six  other  cars, 

To  the  sweeps  of  Lyra-land. 


W  h   i  in  s  i  c  a  1     R   i  ?n   e  9  27 


PLANET  NEPTUNE 
TO  MOTHER  SUN 

Mother  of  Worlds,  you  shine  afar 
With  the  feeble  light  of  an  evening  star ; 
Your  smile  is  faint  as  I  glimpse  your  face 
Across  the  millions  of  miles  of  space. 

Can  you  recall  that  destined  day 
When  I  left  your  arms  and  sped  away 
To  spin  my  life  in  the  lonely  wide? — 
Alone  till  a  child  moved  by  my  side. 

Smaller  you  grew  and  dimmer  yet 

As  eons  dawned  and  millennia  set, 

Till  you  lived  for  midgets,  Mars  and  Earth, 

Older  than  I,  but  younger  in  birth. 

Ages  of  ages  have  passed  since  then, 
And  time  must  die  ere  we  meet  again, 
Yet  I  send  my  longing  across  the  night 
To  dust  of  my  dust  and  light  of  my  light. 


28  W  h  i  m  s  i  c  a  I     Rimes 


CAVEGIRL'S     SONG 


Around  the  woods  old  lion  creeps 
With  bitter  eyes  against  the  dark, 

And  fur-bear  thuds  about  the  brook 
Or  tears  upon  the  trees  his  mark. 

Yet  Babba  dear,  you  never  fear, 

But  coo  within  your  bed  of  bark, 

For  she  to  whom  you  cling  is  near. 

Ah,  something  lurks  beyond  the  fires 
That  glint  the  awful  cave  of  night, 

And  hides  within  the  stillest  glooms 
Till  birdsong  and  the  waking  light. 

My  Babba  dear,  I  droop  with  fear 
And  wonder  can  this  loss  be  right. 

I  feel  so  much  to  me  unclear. 

For  something  took  our  own,  the  Strong; 

So  many  sleeps  he  stays  away. 
He  brings  no  more  the  food  he  found 

In  shining  thickets  day  by  day. 
O  Babba  dear,  each  lonely  tear 

Your  tiny  fingers  strike  away, 
But  he  is  never,  never  here. 


W  //   /'  m   steal     R   i  m   e  s  2<j 


OUR    FUGITIVE 


Love  may  return  at  twilight; 

It  may  delay  till  dawn ; 
But  though  it  wait  its  own  dear  date. 

We  know  it  has  not  gone. 

It  fades  in  street  and  market, 
Alarmed  by  whir  and  throng. 

From  glare  of  day  it  droops  away : 
It  fails — but  not  for  long. 

In  hours  of  dusk  and  silence 

The  soul  regains  its  best ; 
Enchantments  bind  both  heart  and  mind 

As  Love  wings  home  to  rest. 


30  Whimsical     R  i  m  e  s 


THOSE  WHO  CONQUERED  EARTH 


The  tribes  went  east,  the  tribes  fared  west, 
And  clans  moved  south  and  north, 

Aw7ay  from  groves  where  the  race  had  birth ; 
From  tropical  Asia  forth, 
By  dell  and  fen,  the  hosts  of  men 

Roved  on  to  rule  the  earth. 

And  those  that  trod  the  wide  southwest 
Were  trapped  by  a  sultry  sun, 

Where  bosky  Congo  and  Niger  wind 
Or  foaming  torrents  run. 
And  minds  asleep  in  langor  deep 

For  centuries  lolled  behind. 

The  folk  that  roamed  a  vast  northeast, 

Where  the  giant  Yangtze  streams, 

Discovered  wisdom,  beauty,  gold 
Of  Oriental  dreams. 
Then  blessed  the  past  and  bound  them  fast 

To  the  cumbrous  things  of  old. 


IV  h  i  m  s  i  c  a  I     Rimes  Ji 


In  a  far  northwest  the  sturdy  clans 

That  ranged  from  Po  to  Clyde 
Revered  the  ancient  Middle  Sea. 

Yet  weighed  its  work  and  cried, 
"More  we  will  know  and  higher  go!" 
So  they  thought  the  whole  world  free. 

But  out  where  islands  lift  their  peaks 

Above  the  coral  bays, 
The  southeast  rovers  paddled  round 
In  scented  summer  days. 
Oh  wrhat  is  thought  ?   It  never  has  brought 
The  beautiful  world  they  found. 


j  2  W  h  i  m  s  i  c  a  I     Rimes 


COURAGE,     COMRADE 


In  ways  that  now  we  cannot  know, 
Beyond  our  doubt  and  pain, 

The  happiness  we  need  will  come, 
For  dreams  are  not  in  vain. 

Yet  though  the  last  dear  hope  should  die, 

Believe  that  you  will  find 
A  new  ideal  to  heal  the  heart 

And  raise  and  lead  the  mind. 

Then  strong!   for  much  has  courage  won. 

If  help  arrives  too  late, 
Oh  see  that  ill  is  half  in  thought 

And  only  half  in  fate. 


W  h  i  m  s  i  c  a  I     Rimes  33 


HER   WONDERFUL    WORLD 


I  love  you,  World :  your  April  skies 
With  clouds  that  drift  in  mountain  blue; 

The  greening  hills  and  flowered  lawns ; 

Your  sunset  dreams  and  Eden  dawns; 
The  ocean  waves,  in  foam  dispersed — 

I  care  for  you,  dear  Earth,  far  more 

Than  ever  I  have  cared  before ; 
I  love  because  she  loved  you  first. 

I  love  you,  Life:   the  afterdark 

With  spectral  hills  in  evening  mist ; 
Enduring  stars  that  guard  above 
The  city's  lights  of  home  and  love; 

And  silver  roads  that  moonglow  gives — 
I  cleave  to  you,  dear  Life,  far  more 
Than  ever  I  have  clung  before; 

I  love  you,  Life,  because  she  lives. 


^4  Whimsical     Rimes 


DESTINY 


It  gives  us  love  and  it  grants  us  woe, 
But  it  does  not  care  and  it  does  not  know. 
It  rules  with  kind  and  with  cruel  laws: 
O'erspreads  the  hills  with  sunset  gauze, 
Purple  or  blue  to  herald  night, 
Though  gray  or  pink  in  the  morning  light ; 
It  touches  the  sea  with  sky- joy  blue 
And  plants  its  sheen  in  the  roses'  dew ; 
Lifts  the  trees  from  earth's  cold  crust 
And  blows  its  pansies  from  granite  dust ; 
Cools  the  poppies  with  ocean  mist, 
But  dulls  their  gold  if  so  it  list. 
It  grants  us  ups  and  doles  us  downs ; 
Prepares  with  smiles,  or  sends  with  frowns, 
Wonderful  days  and  beautiful  hours, 
Or  pain  and  tears,  storms  and  showers.- 
It  draws  us  high  to  dash  us  low, 
For  it  does  not  care  and  it  does  not  know. 


Whimsical     Rimes  jj 


It  gave  me  life,  a  glorious  chance. 
Now  may  it  glow  with  sunshine  glance ; 
Bend  for  me  and  be  wondrous  kind 
To  let  me  live  in  heart  and  mind — 
Live  to  the  full,  yes  joy  and  be! 
If  this  it  will  yield  but  once  to  me, 
Then,  if  it  must,  it  may  break  my  heart 
And  tear  the  gift  and  my  grip  apart; 
Humble  and  wreck  and  lay  me  dead 
Under  the  snows  on  the  mountain  shed. 

And  what  I  ask  I  beg  for  all. 

Oh  let  them  live,  though  they  climb  to  fall! 


j6  W  h  i  m  steal     Rimes 


MAY    DAY 


The  oriole  sings  at  morning, 

And  mocking-birds  lilt  at  night, 

Hut  within  my  heart  is  a  music 
That  mellows  dark  and  light. 

Forget-me-nots  gleam  in  valleys, 
And  poppies  in  mountain  dew, 

Yet  within  my  mind  is  a  garden 

That  blooms  the  whole  world  through. 

Venus  perfects  the  evening, 

And  Jupiter  flames  all  night, 

But  within  my  soul  is  a  splendor 
That  glows  unfading-bright. 

Flower  and  bird  and  planet 
To  all  in  the  world  are  true, 

But  the  heaven  within  my  heart 
Swings  wide  its  gates  for  you. 


W  h  i   m  5  i  c  a  I     R  i  m  e  s 


THIS    FOR    ME 

Of  all  the  planets  that  circle  the  sun, 
Your  world  is  the  fairest  that  ever  spun. 

Among  the  countries  that  cover  earth, 
I  count  as  best  your  land  of  birth. 

Though  thousands  of  cities  within  it  hide, 
I  like  that  best  where  you  abide. 

And  of  all  the  souls  in  its  varied  host, 
I  find  you  dearest  and  love  vou  most. 


>dt 


(r 


37 


j8  Whimsical     Rimes 


JOY  COMES  AT  MORNING 


Gleams  a  star  trail  on  the  ocean, 

Then  a  moon  path  down  the  bay, 
While  a  solitary  spirit 

Thinks  of  one  who  went  away. 
Birds  o'  night  are  singing  softly 

From  the  eucalyptus  trees, 
And  the  drowsy  palms,  awaking, 

Fan  the  orange-scented  breeze. 
While  the  surf  is  sighing,  dying, 

By  the  silent,  lonely  cliff, 
Some  one  far  up  in  the  moonlight 

Sadly  muses,  wonders  if — 

If  the  Love  so  far  away 

Comes  again  and  comes  to  stay. 

Morning  stars,  so  long  asparkle, 
Pale  and  fail,  for  day  is  born. 

Feathered  folk  by  thousands  carol 
Ecstasies  to  honor  morn, 

And  the  flowers,  red  and  purple, 
Lift  a  welcome  to  the  sun. 


Whimsical     Rimes  jg 


Then  around  the  harbor  headland 

Gilded  masts  through  morning  run. 

Like  a  dream  the  ship  encircles 
Spirit  dearer  than  the  dawn. 

While  the  ocean-scented  breezes 
Stir  her  hair  and  scarf  of  lawn. 
For  the  Love  from  far  away 
Has  returned — returned  to  stay! 


LOVE'S   VENTURE 

One  light,  one  shadow;  one  gain  and  loss; 

One  dream  for  the  years  to  be; 
One  faith  to  bind,  one  love  to  bless; 
One  hope  unfurled  in  spring's  caress, 
To  sail  where  time  and  chance  possess 

The  Everlasting  Sea. 


40  Whimsical     R 


i  m  e  s 


IDAHO 


Your  miles  of  grain  and  seas  of  sage 
Above  the  lava  dust  dip  from  sight. 

They  reach  from  river  banks  gnarled  with  age 
To  shattered  slope  or  timbered  height; 

They  thrive  by  the  Snake  as  it  winds  and  falls, 

Or  cling  to  life  on  the  northern  walls. 

At  night  there  arches  across  the  land 
A  Milky  Way  more  wide  and  bright ; 

The  constellations  are  keen  and  grand, 
And  planets  gleam  with  richer  light. 

For  the  stars  smile  down  with  a  kinder  glow 

Where  Heaven  leans  over  Idaho. 


If     h   i  m  s  i  c  a  I     R   i   m   c  $  41 


FEW    ARE    CHOSE  X 


Few  can  be  happy,  few  prevail ; 

The  many  must  smile  at  dreams, 
As  on  through  shadowed  lanes  they  press 

To  sink  in  delusion's  gleams. 
For  only  a  few  can  part  the  trove 

Of  power  or  truth  or  fame, 
And  only  the  fewT  can  life  endue 

With  a  deathless  love  or  name. 

O  Few  who  are  happy,  Few  who  love, 
Do   you  know  the   debt   you   owe 
To  souls  that  failed,  to  hearts  that  lost? — 

O  Few,  you  never  will  know 
That  the  love  which  wooed  you  out  of  dust 

You  won  through  others'  loss; 
That  power  or  gain  is  the  gift  of  pain, 

While   thousands  bear  the  cross. 


42  Whimsical     Rimes 


SHINING     ONES 

Beloved  Stars,  above  the  way 
I  wind  through  hope  and  care, 

Shine  on,  smile  on,  howe'er  I  stray! 
Though  far  I  go,  no  matter  where, 
I  find  your  benediction  there, 
O  kindly,  constant  Stars. 

When  friends  and  loved  ones  fail  or  die, 

When  skill  and  hope  have  set, 

Remain,  O  souls  of  evening  sky! 

Though  strength  forsake,  though  men 
forget, 

A  few,  I  know,  will  pity  yet 

Among  the  constant  Stars. 


Whimsical     Rimes  43 


Arcturus,  Deneb,  mild  Altair, 
Mars   and  Aldebaran, 

Who  nod  and  flash  in  midnight  air, 
I  hail  and  love  you  every  one, 
With  Vega,  jolly  giant  sun, 
My  own  among  the  Stars. 

No  loss,  no  wrong,  of  mine  can  bend 
From  me  one  gracious  ray. 

Your  light  will  glow  until  the  end, 
For  all  things  dear  may  drift  away, 
And  you  alone  of  all  can  stay, 
O  Stars,  beloved  Stars. 


44 


W  h  i  m  s  i  c  a  I     R  i  m  e  s 


FORSAKEN 


Life  of  the  pulsing  Universe, 

Power  in  star,  in  rock  and  tree, 

Why  do  you  smite  the  Brothers  Men? 
Be  merciful  to  them — and  me. 

Strength  of  the  tidal  wave  that  stills 
The  cry  ten  thousand  mortals  moan, 

Look!  you  pause  at  your  ancient  work; 
Pity,  pity  us,  your  own. 

Breath  from  long-lulled,  waking  hills 
Wraps  our  cities  in  scorching  blight; 

Storms  rend  and  wreck  the  nests  of  love ; 
Disease  strikes  dead  from  nooks  in  night. 

Still  you  wait,  asmile  in  flowers 

Lining  the  lane  of  tears  and  wrong. 

Hunger  rules,  form  feeds  on  form — 
Life  of  the  Universe,  how  long? 


//'  //  i  ?n  s  i  c  a  I     R   i  m  e  s  45 


THIS     LITTLE     LIFE 


Across  unending  spaces,  and  down  the  whirl  of  time. 
The  stuff  called  I  has  sifted,  to  reach  a  pantomime — 

To  gleam  as  heart  and  reason  a  brief,  delusive  season ; 
To  think,  to  will,  to  love,  to  ponder  human  lore; 
To  strain,  to  flare  or  falter,  like  myriad  millions  more. 

Yet  from  this  swirl  of  time,  and  through  a  vast,  void  sea, 
The  stuff  called  I  must  filter  and  never  more  can  be 

The  same  old  focused  yearning,  with  hope  and  purpose 
burning; 
With  wisps  of  recollection  and  surge  of  love  and  hate — 
This  strange  agglomeration  of  biologic  fate. 

And  you  of  dawn  and  twilight,  Eternity's  gift  to  me — 
A  hope  and  inspiration,  music  and  reverie — 

To  sleep  and  change  are  tending,  the  farewell  and  the 
ending. 
Your  mind  must  lose  its  luster  and  from  your  eyes  the  light 
Will  flicker  into  shadow  and  melt  in  cosmic  night. 

So  down  the  cold,  hushed  ages,  past  or  yet  to  be, 
I  fling  my  aspiration  through  all  Infinity, 

To  seek  ere  dusk  a  meaning,  some  new  diviner  gleaning, 
To  satisfy  a  heart  that  still  too  sadly  knows 
That  you  and  I  may  dwindle  to  butterfly  or  rose. 


4&  Whimsical     Rimes 


GOOD-BYE 

I  ASK  no  more,  kind  Mother  of  us  all, 
As  in  the  darkened  silences  that  grow 

Beyond  the  farther  rim  of  life,  I  fall, 
Rejoicing  that  I  lived.  Content,  I  go ; 

One  golden  comradeship  was  more  than  all, 

And  though  the  good  I  longed  for  could  not  be, 
You  gave  this  dear  devotion,  and  to  know 
She  cared  .  .  .  for  me. 


Whimsical     Rimes  47 


NIGHT 

The  twilight  falls;  the  dear,  clear  day  at  last  is  done. 
I  offer  thanks  to  Him  who  sent  the  kindly  sun. 
Although  my  heart  is  shaken  and  cannot  understand 
Why  He  would  end  a  day  so  radiant  and  rare, 
I  bow  as  Dark  descends  and  gently  wrests  from  me 
The  hours,  so  greatly  loved,  which  nevermore  can  be. 


END  OF  FIRST  BOOKLET 


JECOND 
BOOKLET 


COPYRIGHTED  1911 

by 

LELAND  •  S  •  COPELANU 


FORE 

"Good  verse  rimes,1' 
Boss  Matthews  thought: 

"Free  lines  fetter 
Charm;'  he  taught. 

"Tabloid  work 

Is  much  preferred," 
MacAlarney. 

"Write  a  word." 


W  h  i  m  s  i  c  a  I     R   i  m   e  s  JJ 


DREAMS 


Beyond  the  dark  and  ruffled  sea, 

'Which   breezes  crest  with  foam  ; 
Beyond  the  rising  tidal  stream, 
Where  sails  and  circling  seagulls  gleam, 

All  dim  gray-blue,  it  shoulders  through — 
The  Island  of  my  Dream. 

Out  there  at  dawn  a  purple  veil 

Slips   down   the   mountain   slope, 

To  tint  a  nook  where  poppies  teem, 
And  in  that  paradise  I  seem 

To  see  her  wait,  caressed  by  Fate — 
The  Lovegirl  of  my  Dream. 

Yet  all  the  years  sweep  sadly  by. 

I  cannot  cross  the  sea, 

But  on  the  cliff  that  braves  the  stream 
I  stay  perplexed,  nor  catch  a  beam 

Of  faith  to  take  and  will  to  make 
The  Future  of  my  Dream. 


54  Whimsical     Rimes 


ALONE 


I  often  think  how  lonely  the  Lord  of  Life  must  be, 
Who  made  the  pneumococcus  and  poured  the  starry  sea ; 
Who  built  a  brontosaurus  and  locked  its  bones  in  earth 
Ere  anthropoid  or  human  had  Cenozoic  birth. 

How  lonely,  how  forsaken,  the  God  of  Suns  must  be, 
With  neither  wife  nor  comrade  to  share  Eternity! 
His  home  quintillions  measure,  but  every  else  too  small, 
For  suns  themselves  are  motes  that  dust  the  Empty  All. 

I  sometimes  think  how  sated  the  King  of  Kings  must  be, 

Whose  microscopic  vision  records  Infinity — 

The  toils  and  wars  of  trillions,  while  hunger,  love,  and 

hope 
Unreel  the  old,   old  dramas  through  which  the  midges 

grope. 


Whimsical     Rimes  SS 


CONSOLATRIX 

Take  me,  dear  Death,  in  your  arms. 

I  have  tried  so  hard  in  vain, 
But  the  hopes  of  my  heart  life  cannot  impart — 

You  must  smooth  away  this  pain ; 
You  must  lock  me  fast  where  hope  is  passed, 

Released  from  my  own  disdain. 

Fold  me,  kind  Death,  in  your  calm. 

I  am  tired  of  toil  and  play, 
And  I  long  to  rest,  like  a  child,  on  your  breast 

In  the  dusk  of  a  tangled  day. 
Yes,  I  long  to  sleep  in  a  slumber  deep, 

Untroubled  forever  and  aye. 


j6  Whimsical     R  i  m  e  s 


STARS 


Out  through  space  my  spirit  leaps, 

Swifter  far  than  light; 
Up  to  the  lunar  craters, 

Gilded,  banked  with  night; 
Over  the  channeled,  ruddy  Mars, 

Up  through  Saturn's  rings; 
Parting  the  hair  of  comets, 

On  my  spirit  wings; 
Out  where  vast  and  awful  voids 

Space  the  Milky  Way — 
Room  for  earths  by  hundreds 

To  spin  the  night  and  day; 
Straight  through  stuff  of  orbs  unborn, 

Mammoth  nebulae; 
Lost  where  stars  by  thousands 

Light  the  Ether  Sea; 
Far  in  timeless,  bournless  space 

Till  systems  cease  to  roll; 


W  h  i  in  steal     R  i  m  e  s  57 


Ever  vainly  seeking 

Hope  and  the  Supersoul. 
Millions  die  who  never  knew 

Half  I  see  and  ken 
While  I  circle  madly 

Through  the  stars.   And  then- 
Back  to  earth  my  spirit  falls, 

Tired  of  cosmic  dust; 
Needing  a  human  being, 

Human  love  and  trust; 
Gliding  down  on  fancy's  wings 

Deep  among  the  hills, 
Where  the  elms  and  maples 

Arch  the  flowered  rills; 
Back  to  dark-haired  Mirabel 

All  my  being  flies; 
Back  to  a  wide-arm  welcome 

And  the  cosmos  of  her  eves. 


5$  Whimsical     Rimes 


REBIRTH 

It  was  here  that  your  ashes  were  laid,  my  dear; 

That  we  scattered  your  dust  in  the  dew, 
Where  we  planted  the  rose  that  enchantingly  grows 

To  fashion  your  graces  anew. 

Your  glories  still  gladden  the  earth,  my  child ; 

Your  smile  is  a  quaint  perfume; 
These  velvety  tips  were  the  gentlest  of  lips, 

And  your  cheeks  engendered  this  bloom. 

Again  you  appear,  but  are  many,  my  child, 

And  at  last  one  brightens  for  me, 
Who  loved  you  so  long,  with  a  loyalty  strong, 

And  hoped  for  what  never  could  be. 


Whimsical     Rimes  5Q 


DREAM -STUFF 


"A  girl  in  whom  a  man  is  interested  is  more 
of  a  dream   than  a  real  person." 


The  girl  you  see — oh  no,  not  she, 

But  the  girl  astir  in  your  heart 
Is  the  woman  you  love  and  exalt  above 

The  stir  of  street  and  mart. 
For  the  really  so  in  lass  or  beau 

Is  hardly  half  that  seems 
When  a  strange  control  upwings  the  soul 

To  days  that  are  webbed  in  dreams. 

For  buried  deep  in  the  mental  keep 

Is  the  love  of  a  million  years — 
The  pulse  and  mark  of  dawn  and  dark 

With  a  myriad  smiles  and  tears. 
And  a  hundred  tales  of  hills  and  dales 

That  were  or  might  have  been, 
The  dreams  of  art,  have  molded  part 

Of  the  love  that  lurks  within. 


6o  W  h  i  m  s  i  c  a  I     R  i  m  e  s 


REST 

I  like  the  sea,  but  I  long  to  be 

Where  ruddy  wild  strawberries  grow; 
Where  fragrant  forget-me-nots  border  the  rills, 
And  maples  and  clover  blooms  nod  in  the  hills, 
In  quiet  green  hills  that  I  know. 

For  it  seems  to  me  'twould  be  lulling  to  be 
Where  the  dead  found  a  rest  long  ago ; 
Where  memories  sleep  in  the  stones  o'er  each  bed, 
And  lilies  look  tenderly  down  at  the  dead, 
In  quiet  green  hills  that  I  know. 


W  h  i  m  steal     R  i  m  e  s  6/ 


SUPERSTAR 

Alpha  of  Orion,  mammoth  of  the  sky, 
Dropping  gold  at  evening,  sparkling  red  and  high; 

Blinking  light  at  billions, 

Vast  as  suns  by  millions ; 
Far  among  the  stars  and  rich  in  latent  worth — 
Greetings  from  a  solar  atom,  wrinkled  little  earth ! 

Airy  in  your  substance,  hardly  there  at  all. 
You  are  moving  madly — heed  some  secret  call. 

Woven  in  your  glories, 

Doze  uncounted  stories. 
Life  and  hope  and  death,  with  love  and  loss  and  tears, 
Sleep  within  your  vapors,  wait  the  throbbing  years. 


62  Whifnsical     Rimes 


ADVENTURE 


Our  life  is  strife,  a  brief  and  rude  adventure, 
A  war  of  will  and  clash  of  hearts, 

And  hope  is  half  our  bliss — a  dream  of  joy, 
Which  Time  so  grudgingly  imparts. 

The  game  is  old,  for  years  have  gone  by  millions 
Since  living  things  first  yearned  and  vied ; 

Since  dots  of  hunger  jostled  round  the  food 
That  floated  through  the  Algonkian  tide. 

Our  restless  globe  has  raced  its  circled  journey 

For  eons  since  the  ape-like  men 
Within  a  Java  jungle  snapped  and  clawed 

For  Beauty,  fruit,  or  leafy  den. 


Whimsical     Rimes  6j 


Three  myriad  years  ago  contending  cavemen 
Struck  death  from  flakes  of  ragged  stone. 

The  lake-hut  peoples  warred.    Assyrian  kings 
On  rivals'  corpses  raised  a  throne. 

Xerxes'  and  Alexander's  deadly  marches, 
The  Caesars'  sword  and  Omar's  flame, 

A  Corsican,  a  Kaiser — all  were  part 
Of  earth's  kaleidoscopic  game. 

Millions  of  years!   yet  men  and  nations  grapple. 

So  sad  to  lose,  yet  grand  to  win ! 
A  glint  of  gain  to  fight  for  thrills  the  world, 

Which  drowsy,  dreary  else  had  been. 


64  W  h  i  m  s  i  c  a  I     R  i  m  e  s 


DAWN     AND     HOPE 


Light,  light,  the  morning  light — 
Many  a  ray  leading  the  day 
Into  all  parts. 

Hope,  hope,  recurrent  hope — 
Bringing  us  cheer,  conquering  fear, 
Raising  our  hearts. 


PARTING 


Farewell,  for  the  shadowed  hours  incline, 
And  day's  delights  so  soon  are  gone. 

I  leave  you,  dear;  your  love  resign. 

Farewell — till  a  brighter  day  shall  dawn. 


Whimsical     Rimes  6j 


SHADOWS 

Overtones   of  "Take  Me   Back   to    Babyland," 
F.    J.    Tannehill,   Jr. 

Take  me  back  where  Elsa  smiles, 

And  let  me  linger  there; 
Cheer  me  with  the  pensive  charm 

Of  shadow  eyes  and  hair; 
Let  her  sing  again  or  be 

Sweet  with  whimsies  fanned — 
Take  me  back  beside  the  hearth, 

Deep  in  Memoryland. 


66  Whimsical     Rimes 


FUTURE 


After  the  dreams  and  yearning, 
Beyond  the  storm-cloud,  too, 

What  for  me  will  the  future  be, 
And  what  for  you? 

Where  will  Florene  be  singing, 
And  who  will  arrest  her  smile? 

Whose  joy  will  last  when  mine  has  passed, 
After  a  while? 

Who  will  charm  her  forever? 

Ah,  would  that  I  knew  how! 
Man  of  the  earth,  esteem  her  worth 

As  I  do  now. 


Whimsical     Rime 


67 


THESE   THINGS     MUST    BE 

I  cannot  help  that  snows  are  white, 

That  skies  of  June  are  blue, 
Nor  yet  that  stars  shine  all  night  long — 

No  more  can  you,  no  more  can  you. 

The  Bengal  tiger's  teeth  are  sharp, ' 

And  ships  go  down  at  sea; 
No  footfall  cheers  the  lonely  moon — 

These  things  must  be,  these  things  must  be. 


k 


68  Whimsical     Rimes 


THUS    PASSES    GLORY 


My  master  has  rendered  a  message  of  fate 

In  words  that  gloom  like  a  knell, 
And  my  way  winds  out  through  the  mountain  gate 

To  droop  where  the  lost  souls  dwell. 
For  the  fairy-formed  hours  are  all  at  end, 
And  hope  so  shattered  no  magic  can  mend — 

Too  soon  I  must  bid  you  farewell. 

Through  fair  paths  we  wandered ;  no  more  we  shall  roam, 

For  Fate  is  supreme  from  appeal. 
I  must  leave  you  serene  in  your  mountain-locked  home, 

To  wait  for  the  ill  and  the  weal. 
For  my  way  lengthens  on  under  rain-laden  skies 
And  no  more  will  run  where  your  mountains  arise — 

I  have  lost  you  forever,  Camille. 


Whimsical     Rimes  69 


REMORSE 


In  the  ember  glow  I  sit  alone 

At  the  twilight  hour  of  life, 
And  muse  of  a  day  ere  I  stole  away 

To  dwell  in  a  world  of  strife. 
I  think  of  a  hope  forever  gone, 

Of  joy  that  died  in  the  din, 
And  dream  of  the  love  that  once  I  loved 

And  the  glory  that  might  have  been. 

I  stand  anew  on  a  grassy  knoll 

In  the  Springland  of  Romance, 
And  my  soul  is  stirred  by  a  love-fraught  word 

And  the  power  of  a  tender  glance. 
The  distant  dell,  where  soft  clouds  drift, 

And  the  future  seem  akin, 
As  again  we  plan  for  the  years  to  come — 

For  the  glory  that  never  has  been. 


JO  Whimsical     Rimes 


W  A  N  H  O  P  E 


Through  all  the  long,  dim  ages 

That  were  or  ever  will  be, 
The  bliss  that  we  seek  we  saw  not 

And  never  forever  shall  see. 

Fair  dreams  we  have  dreamed,  dear  comrades, 
But  our  rose-girt  hopes  have  fled ; 

Oh  many  an  early  promise 

That  wakened  our  wills  is  dead. 

The  goo4  we  labored  to  gather, 
The  joy  that  was  almost  won, 

Lie  out  of  our  life  forever, 

And  our  clouded  dav  is  done. 


W  h  i  m  s  i  c  a  I     R  i  m  e  s  7/ 


We  were  whims  of  a  myriad  chances, 
The  entangled  strands  of  cause, 

Which'  gave  us  a  full,  deep  yearning 
And  broke  us  with  pitiless  laws. 

But  who  can  forbid  us  to  fancy 
We  yet  shall  stand  in  the  light 

That  shines  for  the  favored  of  Nature? 
Hope  on  till  the  fall  of  night! 

Let  us  dream  till  Dark,  the  consoler, 
Comes  gently  to  lull  us  to  rest; 

To  wrap  us  up  snug  for  eons 
In  a  care-free  slumber  nest. 


72  Whimsical     Rimes 


SUNDERED 


I  have  missed  you,  dearest  being, 

In  the  winding  ways  of  earth. 
At  each  turning,  dimly  yearning, 

I  have  found  but  days  of  dearth; 
Never  learning  or  discerning 

Where  you  linger,  Soul  of  Worth. 

When  I  brood  o'er  past  and  future, 
Soon  to  you  my  thoughts  incline. 

In  my  dreaming,  lost  in  seeming, 
I  am  sure  your  hopes  entwine 

One  still  deeming  love  is  streaming 
From  your  heart  to  comfort  mine. 

Though  I  know  that  all  my  journey 
Fortune's  blight  will  darken  through, 

I  am  trying,  vainly  spying, 
For  the  face  I  never  knew. 

And  in  dying,  death  defying, 
All  my  heart  will  go  to  you. 


Whimsical     Rimes  73 


HELPMEET 


Pretty  eyes  and  tresses 

Capture  easy  men. 
Dupes  that  wed  for  beauty 

Seldom  smile  again. 

Woman  takes  the  ducats, 
Woman  grips  the  sous; 

Finery  and  comforts 

Why  should  she  refuse? 

Giving  teas  and  dinners, 

Much  she  helps  her  spouse. 

Prizes  won  at  parties 
Decorate  the  house. 

Judges  show  him  mercy; 

Still  there's  gold  to  pay — 
Alimony  driblets 

Till  the  Judgment  Day. 


J4  Whimsical     Rimes 


VANITY 


Roses  lose  their  pink  and  white, 
Clinging  vines  too  soon  untwine; 

Day's  dear  light  goes  out  in  night, 
Stars  at  last  refuse  to  shine. 

Is  there,  then,  no  faithful  wight? 

Yes,  a  creature  sweetly  true; 
Woman  bright  as  dawning  light, 

Constant-during  .  .  .  like  the  dew 


THOUGHTS    AND   WISHES 

When  the  sky  is  blue,  I  think  of  you, 

Of  a  woman  gowned  in  gentle  blue. 

Through  the  sunset  pink,  of  you  I  think, 

Of  a  girl  enrobed  in  darling  pink. 

When  the  moon  shines  fair  on  night  like  your  hair, 

I  wish  you  were  here — no,  I'm  glad  you  are  there! 


Whimsical     Rimes  75 


MELODY     IN     M 


Music  of  her  voice, 

Magic  of  her  eye, 
Mystery  of  her  presence 

Make  me  sad — and  why? 

Much  though  I  adore, 

More  than   she  can  see, 

Merry-minded  maiden 
Merely  mocks  at  me. 


ENVY 

If  I  were  Miss  Florena's  muff, 

I'd  be  exceeding  bold, 
For  e'en  by  day,  on  every  way, 

Two  precious  hands  I'd  hold. 

If  I  might  be  Florena's  muff, 
Though  other  joys  depart, 

Enough  for  me  that  I  could  be 
So  very  near  her  heart. 

If  I  were  just  Florena's  muff, 

She'd  like  me  much — she  would ; 

Each  soft  caress,  would  then  address 
To  me — ah,  if  she  could ! 


y6  Whimsical     Rimes 


ELFIN     LAMENT 


Sweet  lady  with  the  dark  brown  eyes, 
With  hair  where  night  in  slumber  lies, 
With  ready  smile  and  witching  ways 
That  web  the  hearts  of  men  and  fays ; 
The  shadows'  pride,  whom  sunshine  grew; 
Enchantress,  yet  a  kindness  too — 
Oh  why,  oh  why,  do  you  dart  away 
From  hedge  and  lawn  where  the  fairies  play? 

Sometimes  at  dusk  your  footfall  light 
Bestirs  the  pulse  of  bearded  spright 
And  thrills  the  heart  of  this  elfin  king — 
My  heart  leaps  like  a  wounded  thing. 
Then  forth  I  spring  with  happy  cry 
To  welcome  one  who  scurries  by. 
Aye,  fast  and  faster  follow  you; 
Distressed  and  breathless,  call,  "Halloo! 


Whim  steal    Rimes  ~7 


O  lassie,  come  with  fairies  play 
And  frolic  o'er  the  lawn  till  day." 
But  heedless  (Sweet,  you  do  not  know), 
With  flying  feet  clear  home  you  go ; 
You  slam  the  door  on  hoary  beard 
And  leave  me  with  the  dark  you  feared. 

Then  up  to  your  window  straight  I  leap 
And  flat  my  nose  on  the  pane  and  peep. 
A  hopeless  darkness  rules  awhile ; 
The  light  comes  on,  I  see  you  smile. 
You  smile  with  a  smile  not  meant  for  me — 
Oh  would  that  dark  brown  eyes  could  see 
The  sad  little  heart  that  loves  you  so, 
With  changeless  love  that  fairies  show. 

So,  faint  and  grieved,  I  drop  to  earth 
And  slow  wend  back  to  sport  and  mirth — 
To  mirth  I  joy  in  ne'er  again 
Till,  Queen  of  Fays,  you  crown  my  train. 


7#  W  himsical     Rimes 


TO     LIVE     IS    TO     SIN 


BY   SPITFIRE,    KITTEN 

I  licked  my  paws 

And  sharped  my  claws ; 
Then  purred,  "Beware,  my  tasteful  mouse," 

Ere  I  danced  away 

In  the  failing  day 
Through  a  spacious  printing  house. 

And  as  I  went 

With  greedy  bent, 
I  stilled  my  heart  as  good  men  do. 
11  'Tis  not  unkind 

For  me  to  find 
A  mellow  mouse  or  two. 

"  'Cause  not  for  self 

Or  dainty  pelf 
I  soon  shall  lick  my  velvet  jaws; 

To  help  poor  man 

The  best  I  can, 
I  munch  on  mousy  paws." 


Whimsical     Rimes  7Q 


So  round  the  base 

Of  many  a  case 
Where  printers  toiled  my  bright  eyes  went. 

With  purpose  ripe 

Past  linotype 
I  dashed — and  found  the  scent. 

Then  through  the  door 

And  over  the  floor 
Of  the  editorial  room  I  flew. 

In  that  hall  of  fame 

I  clawed  my  game 
While  the  scribes  roared,  "  'Rah  for  you!" 

The  girl-cub  cried 

When  this  she  spied, 
"O  naughty  Spitfire,  come  not  here 

With  angry  mind 

And  all  unkind — 
You  shall  not  hurt  the  dear!" 

That  mouse  was  scared, 

So  ill  he  fared. 
''Let's  arbitrate,"  he  gently  whined. 

I  took  my  fill. 
"I  gladly  will. 
But  wait  till  I  have  dined." 


So  Whimsical     Rimes 


EUGENICS?    WHY    NOT? 


"If  the  afflicted  member  of  your  direct  ancestral  line  was 
as  far  removed  as  a  great-grandparent,  and  if  you  have  at  least 
three  brothers  and  sisters,  all  normally  resistant,  you  may 
assume  that  the  taint  has  been  eradicated." 

"Wed  my  daughter?    Never,  sir! 
Parent  love  will  shelter  her." 
Father  thundered  till  he  shook, 
Scattering  ice  along  his  look. 

Vanished  all  the  suitor's  bliss. 
"What,  ne'er  taste  your  weedy  kiss? 
Tell  me,  man,  what  crime  I've  done 
That  I  cannot  be  your  son." 

"Ancestors  is  your  offense. 

All  of  whom  had  taint  immense!" 

Fiercely  Dolly's  dad  replied, 

"For  once  at  least  they  all  have  died! 

"Dare  you  seek  a  sweet  girl's  hand? 
Worse  remains;  I  understand, 
Scion  tinctured  through  and  through, 
Some  had  cholera  morbus,  too." 

Grief  prolonged  the  suitor's  face. 
"Nature  marked  me  for  disgrace  .  .  . 
Break  my  heart  ...  I  shall  be  missed  .  .  . 
To  death  and  calm  I  go  unkissed." 


Whimsical     Rimes  Si 


DIVIDED     DUTY 


"Mother,  I  have  torn  my  trousers — 
Ripped  them  on  a  naughty  nail. 

Will  you  patch  them  while  I  slumber? 

Please,  please,  mend  them  without  fail." 

"Sonny,  mother  cannot  help  you; 

Wait  until  to-morrow  night. 
Mrs.  Mancurst  all  this  evening 

Talks  on  'Feebleness  of  Might. 


>  )> 


"Wife,  my  six  suspender  buttons, 
One  by  one,  have  slipped  away; 

How  shall  I  sustain  my  garments? 
Surely  you  will  sew  to-day." 

"Husband,  I  am  grieved  to  tell  you 
You  must  use  a  safety  pin ; 

Dear,  the  canvass  keeps  me  busy — 
Woman's  pet  reforms  must  win. 

"When  I  shall  have  done  my  duty, 
Gladly  I  will  sew  and  sweep; 

Yes,  and  while  the  contest  wavers, 
O'er  your  troubles  I  will  weep." 


82  Whimsical     Rimes 


DRIFTWOOD 


Column  for  St.  Valentine's  Day 

Here's  to  the  little  God  of  Love, 
Who  plays  us  tricks  we  know  not  of, 
And  sends  us  with  an  easy  shove 
To  toil  through  life  for  just  a  dove. 


Little  heart,  Cupid's  dart 
Set  you  wildly  throbbing. 

Much  the  pain,  all  in  vain; 
Soon  you  fell  a-sobbing. 

Luckless  wight,  what  a  spite! 
Life  was  meant  for  smiling. 

Cupid's  naughty,  Venus  haughty- 
Futile  all  reviling. 


The  youth  was  based  upon  his  knees; 

His  upbent  quaking  arms  implored, 
While  vibrant  voice  enhanced  his  pleas 
To  one  through  many  months  adored. 


Whimsical     Rimes  8j 


"Oh  wilt  thou  be  my  loving  spouse? 

One  word  can  flood  my  heart  with  light." 
The  answer  fell  from  upper  house — 

11  'Tis  half  past  ten;  bid  John  good  night." 


<( 


Though  your  father  hate  me, 
Though  your  mother  rate  me, 

What  care  I 

For  angry  eye, 
If  my  Susan  mate  me?" 

"William,  you're  a  queer  one; 
Would  I  could  say  'dear  one.' 

What  were  I 

Were  Dad  not  by, 
Coinfully  to  cheer  one?" 


"How  I  like  you,"  William  sighed. 
"Make  it  love,"  the  lass  replied. 
"I  must  then  put  out  an  'i'." 
"Love  is  blind,  no  ill  to  spy." 
"Where  shall  V  go?  tell  me,  Miss. 
"Let  me  take  it  in  a  kiss." 


" 


<$V  Whimsical     R 


1  m  e  s 


LULLABY 


(Songs  like  this  will  be  sung  in 
nurseries  of  2000  A.  D.) 


Hush,  little  nebula, 

Don't  you  cry; 
You'll  be  a  blue  star 

By  and  by. 

Color  will  alter — 

Gold,  red,  and  black, 

One  after  other, 

Will  garnish  your  back. 

Kiddies  called  planets 

Will  spring  from  your  side. 
Curling  and  whirling 

World-stuff  will  ride 

Round  a  vast  circle, 

Performing  a  year; 
Heat  must  go  etherward, 

Cool  lands  appear. 


W  h  i  m  s  i  c  a  I     R  i  m   e  s  8$ 


Life  soon  will  follow — 
Amoeba  and  worm; 

Dinosaur,  mammoth, 

And  Brain  for  a  term. 

Warring  and  slaying, 
Fighting  for  mates, 

Brain  must  live  stories 
Of  loves  and  of  hates. 

Wisdom  will  triumph, 
War  lords  must  die, 

Happiness  triple, 

For  Brain  can  go  high. 


Planet  on  planet, 

Will  crash — but  don't  sigh  ; 
Again  you'll  be  nebula 

Bv  and  bv. 


86  Whimsical     Rimes 


TOO     MUCH     HISTORY 


May,  1915 

Have  done  with  the  rattle  and  rumble  of  war ! 

Away  with  hate  of  the  foe! 

Let  your  childish  racial  dreams  dissolve, 

Entente  and  alliance  go. 

Bid  the  brotherhood  of  nations  rise 

And  world-wide  concord  grow. 

O  Teuton,  Celt,  and  Slav,  obey  the  higher  call ; 

Forsake  the  long-drawn  trenches  and  let  the  standards  fall, 

For  the  Lord  still  loves  the  nations,  one  Power  upholds 
them  all. 

Let  the  Crescent  light  the  Eastern  sky, 

And  the  Cross  make  bright  the  West; 
Bid  the  sword  of  the  Prophet  rage  no  more, 

And  the  steel  of  the  Christian  rest; 
Let  the  long  crusade  forever  end, 
For  only  love  is  best. 
O  blinded  Turk  and  Frank,  obey  the  higher  call ; 
Forsake  the  hateful  turmoil  and  let  the  ensigns  fall, 
For  Allah  loves  the  races,  one  Power  sustains  them  all. 


Whimsical     R  i  m  e  s  8? 


G  A  M  E 


I  celebrate  the  hollow  skull, 

For  years  the  home  of  Whats-His-Name? 
To  this  small  house  great  joys  repaired 
And   cutting  sorrows  came. 

I  cannot  praise  the  rugged  cheeks 

Or  gloomy  nooks  where  eyes  have  been, 

But  must  commend  the  mouth  that  still 
Is  brave  enough  to  grin. 


88  Whimsical     Rimes 


LIONHEART 


At  Harbor  Ease  my  ship  bode  long, 

Lapped  in  a  mirror  bay, 
Where  sunshine  fell  on  mast  and  deck 

And  lured  my  soul  to  stay. 

But  I  bade  the  peaceful  port  farewell, 
To  steer  my  ship  toward  gain ; 

I  fixed  my  hope  on  golden  goals 
That  lie  beyond  the  main. 

And  now  a  storm  uphurls  the  sea; 

Waves  roar  against  my  bark, 
The  wild  winds  madly  flap  the  sails, 

And  night  leads  on  the  dark. 

Yet  hero  blood  shall  fill  these  veins, 

A  lionheart  control; 
No  churlish  fear  can  master  me 

While  purpose  steels  my  soul. 

So  on  I  go  through  calm  or  storm, 
Whiche'er  the  world  may  don ; 

As  long  as  sails  can  hold  the  wind, 
I  will  make  the  ship  speed  on ! 


W  h   i  in  s  j  c  a  I     R   i  m   e  s  89 


"Could  we  forsake 
Our  gods  and  take 
The  Christ  as  more 
Than  Tiw  or  Thor?" 
King  Edwin's  word 
His  councilors  heard. 
While  elders  sighed, 
Thus     thane     replied : 

'Out  of  the  darkness,  out  of  the  storm, 

To  cross  a  feast  hall,  cheery  and  warm, 

A  sparrow  wings;  revives  in  the  light. 

And  then  flies  back  into  snow  and  night. 

Oh  such,  dear  liege,  is  the  life  of  man ; 

He  joys  and  strives  but  a  little  span ; 

From  gloom  to  gloom  moves  like  a  bird. 

If  Christ  mean  more,  accept  His  Word." 
As  Faith  increased, 
A  gray  high  priest 
Denounced  the  gods 
As  dream  -  born  rods; 
Though  called  insane. 
Rode  steed  to  fane; 
Cast  lance  at  wall. 
Placed  torch  to  all. 
While  Woden  flamed, 
A  seer  proclaimed : 
"O'er  lea  and  land 
A  Cross  shall  stand, 
Shall  light  and  lead 
North  urn  b  er  1  and." 


go  Whimsical     R  i  m  e  s 


LAST     SONG 


Sunlight  dances  down  the  trail 

Gently  bending  toward  to-morrow ; 
Luring  me  to  leave  the  twilight 

Locked  in  hills  of  sorrow. 
Home  at  last  beyond  the  mountains! 

Were  you  missed  of  yore? 
I  shall  miss  you  so  again 

Never,  never  more. 

Love  denied,  your  charms  are  dust — 

Laughing  eyes  with  fringe  of  night, 
Lips  that  curve  to  sink  in  dimples, 

Cheeks  of  rosy  white, 
Shadow  hair  with  furls  to  fetter — 

Were  you  prized  of  yore? 
I  shall  love  you  so  again 

Never,  never  more. 


W  h  i  m  s  i  c  a  I     R  i  m  e  s  91 


ETERNITY 


Alone  among  the  stars  I  sit  and  dream 

Of  those  vast  reaches  of  Infinity 
That  conquer  thought,  where  universes  gleam 

Like  golden  islands  in  the  Ether  Sea. 

My  spirit  gropes  within  an  awful  night 

Through  which  no  traveled  starbeam  ever  runs — 

A  nebula  that  now  drinks  heat  and  light ; 

That  yet  will  shine  and  burgeon  into  suns. 

I  watch  a  primal  fire-mist  knot  and  burn 
To  form  the  great  Arcturus,  or  behold 

Two  dark  orbs,  blindly  clashing,  flame  and  turn 
To  stellar  dust  whence  newer  orbs  unfold. 


Oh  what  are  humankind  and  this  our  life 

Compared  with  those  star-clouds  beyond  our  sky  ? 

What  mean    success,  defeat,  the  patient  strife 
To  make  a  better  world  ?    And  what  am  I  ? 

One  germ  among  a  billion  and  a  half 

That  haunt  a  microscopic  land  and  sea 

Within  the  radiance  of  a,  puny  sun, 
Lost  in  the  mazes  of  Eternity. 


Q2  Whimsical     Rimes 


FINALE 


So  this  is  the  end.  The  hour  so  long  postponed 

Has  come,  and  Death  is  calling  at  my  door. 
Perhaps  my  Dark  Friend  wills  that  I  should  go 
To  save  me  from  some  lurking  future  woe. 
But  if  for  well  or  if  for  ill, 

'Tis  useless  to  implore, 
For  I  must  bid  the  World  and  Time 
Good-bye   for  evermore. 

A  moment,  Death.    But  give  me  pause  to  think. 

This  ever-flowered  dale  that  I  adore ; 
The  blue  that  nestles  in  the  Evening's  arms 
Far  up  the  hills,  secure  from  human  harms; 
The  sunlit  curving  bay,  the  peaks 

That  rim  the  dimming  shore — 
To  all  that  I  have  seen  and  loved, 
Good-bye  for  evermore. 

Quite  ready,  Death.    How  many  you  have  called ! 

Above  Fame's  Book  no  longer  I  can  pore 
Or  watch  the  ages'  giants  put  to  test — 
Columbus  and  Magellan  daring  west, 
Old  Galileo's  starry  tour, 

Or  Darwin  delving  lore. 
And  now — to  storied,  gloried  Earth 
Good-bye  for  evermore ! 


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